Vinyl swap meet to be held Sunday in Lafayette

I feel sorry for music fans that didn't grow up during the vinyl era. Sure, I appreciate the fact that today you can wake up at 3 a.m. and instantly download the song that was just in your dreams.

But vinyl provides a music experience that digital files just can't touch. Some of my album covers still have old Scotch tape stuck to the back. Those 12-inch covers made great bedroom posters.

Digital music has no liner notes that make you smarter about music. Most of all, vinyl bathes the listener in warm, rich sound, not a computer's interpretation of music.

Overall, vinyl, including the agonizing wait for a new LP to arrive at the record store, taught listeners that music had value. It shouldn't be used and tossed like a wet paper towel.

I'm not alone in my love of vinyl, which continues to show signs of a comeback. Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks music and video sales, reports 3.9 million albums were sold in 2011. That's a nice increase from 2010, when 2.8 million were sold, and a huge jump from 1993. That's when the industry hit rock bottom and a paltry 300,000 vinyl LPs were sold.

I've just come across Acadiana Vinyl Haul, a Facebook group with 225 members who all share a love of records. Many members are in their 20s and 30s, too young to remember vinyl's heyday, but thrilled to own hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of records.

Many will be at the Shamrock Vinyl Swamp Meet, set for 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Saint Street Inn, 407 Brook Ave., just off the UL campus. Collectors can buy, sell and trade vinyl, participate in a silent auction and enjoy the one and only DJ Andre Broussard who, yes, spins vinyl.

Travis Gauthier, one of the meet organizers, says anyone can participate in this free event.

"If people have records stuck in their closets, they'll be record collectors there wanting to buy them," said Gauthier. "We have people who just want to sell some records and vendors who have shops and also sell.

"We started the group to connect people who like to collect vinyl. We can keep track of where to buy vinyl in town and where some of the deals are. It's a lot of fun."

Gauthier, 38, started collecting in the '90s. He warned me that now I'm part of the Vinyl Haul, I'll be addicted to collecting records. I've suffered with that joyful affliction for a long time.

"It's the fun on the hunt for a lot of people in the group," said Gauthier. "We enjoy the hunt and listening to the beautiful analog sound.

"The experience of sitting down and listening to an entire record is a completely different experience. I've had even younger people that will listen to a record with me. They never grew up with it.

"They listen to a record, sit and talk about it. Then you have to interact with it because you have to go over and flip it. I've had younger people say, 'This is how music is supposed to be listened to'."

It's nice to be in the company of fellow vinyl addicts.

Herman Fuselier is food and culture editor for the Daily Advertiser and the Times of Acadiana. Contact him at hfuselier@theadvertiser.com.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Vinyl swap meet to be held Sunday in Lafayette

I feel sorry for music fans that didn't grow up during the vinyl era. Sure, I appreciate the fact that today you can wake up at 3 a.m. and instantly download the song that was just in your dreams.But